APreliminaryReviewoftheMetallogenicRegularityofNickelDepositsinChina

Thenickeldepositsmainlydistributedin19provincesandautonomousregionsinChinaare339oredeposits/occurrences,including4superlarge-scaledeposits,14large-scaledeposits,26middle-scaledeposits,75small-scaledeposits,and220mineralizedoccurrences.Thepredictiontypesofmineralresourcesofnickeldepositsaremagmatictype,marinesedimentarytypeandregolithtype.TheformationageisfromtheNeoarcheantotheCenozoicwithtwopeaksintheNeoproterozoicandthelatePaleozoic.ThenickeldepositsformedintheNeoproterozoicarelocatedonthemarginoftheNorthChinaBlockandYangtzeBlock,andthoseformedinthelatePaleozoicaremainlydistributedintheCentralAsianOrogenicBelt(CAOB),EmeishanandtheTarimLargeIgneousProvinces(LIPs).Magmaticnickeldepositsaremainlyrelatedwithbroken-upcontinentalmargin,post-collisionextensionoftheorogenicbeltandmantleplume.Accordingtodifferenttectonicbackgroundsandmaincharacteristicsofmagmatism,theNi-Cu-Co-PGEmetallogenicseriestypesoforedepositsrelatedwithmantle-derivedmafic-ultramaficrockscanbedividedinto4subtypes:(1)theNi-Cu-Co-PGEmetallogenicseriessubtypeoforedepositsrelatedwithmantle-derivedmafic-ultramaficrocksinthebroken-upcontinentalmargin,(2)theNi-Cu-Co-PGEmetallogenicseriessubtypeoforedepositsrelatedwithmantle-derivedmafic-ultramaficrocksinmantleplumemagmatism,(3)theNi-Cu-Co-PGEmetallogenicseriessubtypeoforedepositsrelatedwithmantle-derivedmafic-ultramaficrocksinthesubductionoftheorogenicbelt,and(4)theNi-Cu-Co-PGEmetallogenicseriessubtypeoforedepositsrelatedwithmantle-derivedmafic-ultramaficrocksinpost-collisionextensionoftheorogenicbelt.WehavediscussedinthispaperthetypicalcharacteristicsandmetallogenicmodelsforNeoproterozoicNi-Cu-(PGE)depositsrelatedwithbroken-upcontinentalmargin,CambrianmarinesedimentaryNi-Mo-Vdepositsrelatedwithblackshale,earlyPermianNi-Cudepositsrelatedwithpost-collisionextensionoftheorogenicbelt,latePermianNi-Cu-(PGE)depositsrelatedwithLargeIgneousProvinces(LIPs),andCenozoicNi-Audepositsrelatedwithregolith.Thebroken-upcontinentalmargin,mantleplumeandpost-collisionextensionoftheorogenicbeltareimportantore-forminggeologicalbackgrounds,andthediscordogenicfault,mafic-ultramaficintrusion,highMgOprimitivemagma(high-MgObasalticmagma),deepmagmatism,sulfursaturationandsulfidesegregationare6importantgeologicalconditionsforthemagmaticnickeldeposits.